


Sunshine

by sophiacrutchfeild



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #Fluff?, #cuties, #i'm laughing so hard as I write this, #romance, #sunshine, #sweet children, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-23 21:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8343325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophiacrutchfeild/pseuds/sophiacrutchfeild
Summary: Adrien's life has become something beautiful. He's happy, he has someone to love, he has a purpose... And in every dark night, there will always be a spot of sunshine... But the sun sets... And illusions will fade eventually.





	

He smiles up at her, eyes wide with excitement. She's leaping across rooftops, just ahead of him, laughing, and the sunlight shines on her jet-black ponytails. It's incredible...

She turns, and for a moment, her face is pure bliss... Until suddenly the beam warps into a look of terror. "Chat!"

The sunshine glints on the bullet that he leaps in front of.

...

"Adrien..."

He feels his eyes open, and sees his father sitting beside his bed. 

"Father?"

Adrien reaches out to touch his chest, where he should have been shot, only to find... Nothing. No pain. No scar... And on his hand, no ring.

Sitting up quickly, he begins scouring his bed for the ring, terror rising in his chest. "No, no, this can't be happening..."

"What's wrong?" 

Adrien's head snaps to his father. "You. You... Took it! You must have! No, no, you're... No, I won't let you, give it back, my Lady needs me!"

Gabriel blinks, confused. "Excuse me?" 

Adrien is seething with rage. "Give. Me. My. Ring." 

Gabriel shakes his head, frowning. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you wore a ring..."

"Yes you did! You noticed when Jackady attacked! You... You figured it out somehow, and-!"

"What is a Jackady?" Gabriel looks very alarmed at this point. "Adrien, are you on drugs?" 

"No, I'm Chat Noir!" Adrien shouts, getting up from bed and holding up his clenched, ringless fist.

"You're... A black cat?" Gabriel frowns. "Is this an anime of some sort?"

"No! I'm the superhero! Chat Noir, the savior of Paris, partner to the Ladybug, who needs my help and who I love, so I'll fight for her, with or without the ring! The only difference is that without, I'll be more likely to get myself killed! Is that what you want?" 

"Adrien... Superheroes don't exist. You know that." Gabriel is on his feet as well by this point, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. 

"Ladybug does," Adrien nearly growls. 

Gabriel shakes his head, plans to speak to a psychiatrist already forming. "No, Adrien. She doesn't."

Sunshine streams through the windows as Adrien fights off his father and leaps out the window, falling to the ground, and runs off. 

...

"Gotta see Alya. She knows more about Ladybug than anyone. She'll be able to..."

He looks around the city, the city he thought he knew so well, to find himself completely lost. But he's so close to his house, he must have patrolled through a hundred times... The buildings are unfamiliar, and nothing looks the same as it should... 

He shakes it off. It must have to do with being shot. His memory's a mess... How to contact Alya, though? He hasn't a clue where she lives...

But Marinette might. And he does know where she lives, his Princess. She knows Ladybug too, doesn't she? She definitely knows Chat Noir. He can't believe he didn't think of her sooner! 

But... Where is Gottelieb from here...? He feels he should know this, know every inch of the city, being one of its protectors and all... 

He runs up to a woman on the street, smiling. "Exuse me, Madam, you wouldn't happen to have directions to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery on Gottelieb?" 

She frowns. "I can tell you where Gottelieb street is, but not that bakery, sorry."

"Oh? Um, alright!" Adrien grins, and accept the directions.

It's weird that he doesn't recognize anything, and it's a longer walk that he recalls, but eventually, he sees a sign saying Gottelieb... But the bakery isn't there. The whole street looks different than in his memory. It's dustier, duller. The sun is shining, but the street feels dark. 

He thinks he must be on the wrong Gottelieb, but anyone he asks brushes him off as a touist from out of the city, saying that obviously there's only one Gottelieb street...

Eventually, he finds himself sitting against a wall, on the pavement. "What is going on...?" 

His tears shine in the sun. 

...

"Adrien?!"

His eyes open to see Chloé, standing over him in shock.

"Chloé." Suddenly, he gasps. "Chloé, you love Ladybug, right? You definitely do!"

She looks at him, confused. "Um... ladybugs are okay, I guess? Why?"

"No, not ladybugs, Ladybug! The superheroine! She saves you every other day?" 

Chloé's laugh doesn't sound right. It's too honest, not cruel enough... Like how it was when they were kids. "Is this some new show I need to watch?"

"No! No! Where's Marinette? Alya? Nino?"

"Um... Who?"

"THEY'RE IN OUR CLASS!" The sun rains down as Adrien jumps up, shaking Chloé. "You hate Mari, and Alya, but they're my friends and you definiteky know them, please Chloé, stop messing around, please!" 

She looks scared, pulling away. "I don't know them! What kind of names are those anyway? And what do you mean 'our' class?" She frowns, then suddenly her eyes brighten. "Wait, is this your weird way of telling me your dad said you can come to my school?!" 

"I've been going to your school for almost a year, Chloé!"

She folds her arms. "Adrien, seriously. What are you talking about?"

"I'm a superhero!"

She steps back. "Adrien, I... I think you've lost it. I'm calling your dad to come get you. Please don't be mad, but I think you need help right now. Okay?"

"No! No, she's real, it... It can't be a dream..."

She wraps her arms around him, and he sobs into her shoulder. "Shh... Adrien, it's okay, nobody's blaming you, I know the hallucinations can seem real, but I promise they're not." 

"But... But I love her..." 

She strokes his hair, and the sunshine warms his back as he cries.

...

"I'm so sorry, I've been helping him hide them for over a year. I didn't think it would get this bad..." 

He rests his hand against the bathroom door, resting his head against it. If he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine her on the other side, mirroring his movements. 

His Lady. His Princess. Ladybug. Marinette.

He knows, now. They're the same. The psychiatrist says it's part of the healing, to understand flaws in the hallucination. He doesn't believe it's a hallucination... But if it isn't then where is she? Where is she now? 

She was real... Is real... Not a fantasy. Not imaginary... Right? 

She's his other half. And without her, he's broken. 

The bullet. The bullet must have affected the Miraculous, sent him to another dimension... Maybe another bullet in the same place will put things back to normal. 

...

He finds a gun in his father's safe... Not behind the painting, but in Gabriel's bedroom... And presses the tip to his chest.

"I love you, Marinette," he whispers. 

He feels the sun come in as the door slams open, his father cries out, and he pulls the trigger. 

...

His eyes open to see her cradling his head in her red-gloved hands, pretty blue eyes looking down in worry. "I thought you'd left me," she whispers.

"I'm yours forever now, my Lady," he smiles up at her. 

Together, the two superheroes leap off into the sunshine...


End file.
